Early this morning we arrived in Thailand. In Thailand are most people
Buddhists
, compared to Malaysia where most people are Muslims. Apart from that, and that the roads signs again where written in worm language, we did not notice much of a difference from crossing the border.

At the border we got a 30 day visa for free. In Thailand there was no need for the Carnet de Passage. They only asked to see our car registration papers, and then they gave us a 30 day permit for the car in country. After that both we and the car have to leave. But there is no problem at all to return immediately and get a new 30 day permit and a visa.

We parked for the night at a national park outside Trang. The GPS coordinates we got from Walter and Nicole who we met in Agonda, Goa. The facilities was ok but the beach was full of litter so we didn’t feel like swimming.

2/9 2006 Hat Chao Mai Nationalpark, Thailand

Lat N 07° 25,30', Long E 99° 20,80' Today: 84.2 °F (
29 °C)

02 Sep 2006

49985 km

Today we have been swimming with a three year old elephant. That was really wonderful! We got to ride it and play with it. It was not all that easy to climb up. He was so cute tumbling and
diving
. We could clearly see that he liked to be in the water playing.

Suddenly a big elephant poo floated by. But the keepers had it all under control. They had brought a big black bag, like the ones for dog poo.

We are now in Krabi and have found a super nice, white, long, lovely beach. The sea is dotted with small islands. The turquoise clear water is lukewarm. We are parked by a restaurant at the beach that serves fantastic Thai food and ice cold Singha in chilled glasses.

Some days are just great. This is one of those. We could stay here forever. But at 10.30 PM the landowner told us we had to leave and threatened us with calling the police if we didn’t leave immediately. Well, at least we had a great day.

And we almost forgot to tell you, we have now passed 50 000 kilometers on our trip since we left Sweden. In total our SAAB 900 from 1992 has 250 000 kilometers. This far it has run like a clock.

3/9 2006 Krabi, Thailand

Lat N 08° 03,15', Long E 98° 45,20' Today: 86 °F (
30 °C)

03 Sep 2006

50150 km

At the beach along the coast line there are warning signs telling “this is a tsunami area”. We can tell the Thai people take the tsunami seriously. In some areas it is only 60 meters in between the signs. Some of the signs are big maps over all the
evacuation routes
of the area. Other signs tell us the way and distance to the nearest shelter.

Today we drove all the way up to Phuket Island and parked at the Nai Yang beach close to the air port. In the sun set we could see airplane after airplane take off heading for Europe, packed with tourists going home after a hopefully great vacation.

4/9 2006 Nai Yang Beach Phuket, Thailand

Lat N 08° 05,15', Long E 98° 17,61' Today: 89.6 °F (
32 °C)

04 Sep 2006

50352 km

Today we met a lovely couple from Arvika, Sweden. Kerstin, Marko and their kids
Emilia
and
Elina
left Sweden to move to Nai Yang to build a small resort, just a few minutes away from the Phuket airport. The perfect place to stay arriving and leaving Phuket.

They were here on holiday during Christmas and New years. They completely fell in love with Thailand, the people and Nai Yang and decided to move here. Already in February they went back to find a house and to bay land to build a resort. In March they came back again, this time with their children to finds a suitable school for them. In the end of May they packed their suitcases, sublet their house in Arvika and moved here.

The construction of their resort Baan Mai is in full speed. It will be ready in time for the start of the season this year. The construction site looks like this right now, but it will be ready in time for the opening at 1:st of November.

The resort will be a very nice place. In this first stage there will be eight bungalows, a restaurant and a pool, everything is built in wood and surrounded by a lovely garden packed with exotic flowers, green lush vegetation and fruit trees. Kerstin and Marko made the choice to all the way with this project.

But to make business in a different culture and in a different country is not all that easy. And as a foreigner they also come across problems as working permit, problem to buy and own land, visas and other things. But we feel that is someone will make this project come though it is definitely Kerstin and Marko.

5/9 2006 Nai Yang Phuket, Thailand

Lat N 08° 05,84', Long E 98° 18,62' Today: 91.4 °F (
33 °C)

05 Sep 2006

50375 km

Today we had a very inspiring day in the pool with Kerstin and Marko. And as the cool Singha beer run down our throats the ideas got wilder and better. That is really a good thing about beer.

But before we even got there we were our cobra hunting. In just a few weeks they hade spotted three cobras in their neighborhood and two of them were in their own garden!

They have already bought a company car and hired a driver to pick up guests at the airport and to make sightseeing. He told us he was the luckiest driver in Thailand because he has got TV/DVD monitor and a huge sound system in the car now. And within a week he will also have a mini bar for cool drinks. This will be like a limo service.

6/9 2006 Nai Yang Phuket, Thailand

Lat N 08° 05,84', Long E 98° 18,62' Today: 89.6 °F (
32 °C)

06 Sep 2006

50375 km

During a couple of nights we have tried out the qualities of the
chef
to be at the Baan Mai resort. He is supposed to be one of the best in Thailand. Every year he is one of the 20 that competes for the title. Apart from serving delicious Thai food he will also serve Swedish home cooking. This means we try out a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

7/9 2006 Nai Yang Phuket, Thailand

Lat N 08° 05,84', Long E 98° 18,62' Today: 89.6 °F (
32 °C)

07 Sep 2006

50375 km

We started the day at the gym. After that a quick dip in the pool. The rest of the day we spent driving around Phuket to check out
temples
, view points, and beaches. The water, the views and the beaches are just as beautiful as they seem in the travel catalogs. Really don’t understand why people go to overcrowded places like
Patong
beach when there are so much nicer places to choose from.

In the afternoon we went to the Swedish Winfy school to pick up Elina and Emily. There are about 25 children attending school in the age span up to 13 years old.

8/9 2006 Nai Yang Phuket, Thailand

Lat N 08° 05,84', Long E 98° 18,62' Today: 87.8 °F (
31 °C)

08 Sep 2006

50375 km

The rain was pouring down most of the day. Even though it is monsoon season, this is in fact our first day of bad weather since we arrived in Thailand.

We went in to Phuket Town to pay Custom House a visit. We want to leave out car in Thailand for a month while we fly in to China to go backpacking. To bring the car in to China is a lot of hassle and cost about 100 $US per day on top of all our normal expenses.

At Custom House they where ever so nice. There were absolutely no problem at all for us to leave the car here, and they extended our document for the car with two months on the spot. We could hardly believe our eyes after traveling in India, Iran and Pakistan where they turn the slightest ting in to a hardship.

After that we checked out flight fares and found a ticket for Bangkok-Peking-Hong Kong-Bangkok for only 300 Euro. A return ticket Phuket to Bangkok is only about 70 Euro. We need to stay a few days in Bangkok to arrange with a visa for China.

Today we were out shopping. It is a lot to shop for the resort, garden furniture, sun beds, flowers, sheets, towels, lamps, and etcetera. Kerstin was happy to have Catharina as a sounding board and adviser instead of Marko who takes absolutely no interest in interior decoration.

Marko on the other hand was definitely more interested in buying a new camera, a Nikon D-70s.

Today we also got in contact with Anton and Antonella. One of few that actually has been traveling by car in China. Take a look at their
website.
We sent them an e-mail to learn about how they made it happen and to get some advice on contacts, prices etcetera. Sadly Anton and Antonella´s China adventure ended in a bad way. They had a bad accident and their car was totally wrecked. Luckily they came through without any lasting personal injuries. They must have had a guardian angel watching over them!

Well, we have now contacted the guide that Anton and Antonellas had to see if he can help us though China too. We are lucky to not be in a hurry. The rumor has that it takes at least three months to arrange such a trip. This is also why we want to discuss with two possible providers at the same time.

Already yesterday Bert was not feeling good. He had a +40° C, pain everywhere, feeling dizzy, diarrhea and a pain when peeing. Today we called SOS alarm in Copenhagen. They recommended us to go to Bangkok Nursing Home. We thought it was might a reaction to the three antibiotic treatments he got this last week. The immune system ought to be completely knocked out by this.

After examination and some test we got the verdict; urinary infection. We had no idea that you could get this ill from urinary infection. Well, Bert got another antibiotic treatment. The fourth in two weeks!

Anyway, we are lucky to have such a nice room when we are spending this much time there. Our room is like big airy veranda in the middle of Bangkok. Three of the walls are only covered in mosquito net.

23/9 2006 Bangkok, Thailand

Lat N 13° 45,82', Long E 100° 29,94' Today: 93.2 °F (
34 °C)

23 Sep 2006

51587 km

Bert already felt a bit better and we spent the day sightseeing. Just next to us is the Grand Palace. Magnificent is the correct word to describe this
gold
and glittering place with,
perfect trees
and proud
palace guards dressed in white
. King Rama I built this place when he came in power in 1782. Now days the Royal family does not live here, but it is still used for important royal ceremonies.

Here is also The Monastery of the Emerald Buddha; the private chapel of the royal family. That is why no monks live in monastery, but it is open for visitors and praying Buddhists. It is like an explosion of glitter, gold and mirror dressed statues. A lot of restoration is going on. With a
cautious hand
the gold décor is renewed.

High up under the ceiling a big jade Buddha statue sit on its throne. The throne itself sits on top of an enormous pile of golden décors. The emerald Buddha was found in 1434. At that time it was completely covered in plaster, and thought to be just an ordinary Buddha statue. Eventually a piece of plaster on the tip of his nose came off reveled the secret of The Emerald Buddha.

The late afternoon we spent in China Town just around the corner.

24/9 2006 Bangkok, Thailand

Lat N 13° 45,82', Long E 100° 29,94' Today: 95 °F (
35 °C)

24 Sep 2006

51587 km

After some e-mailing back and forth with the Chinese guides we have finally agreed on a suitable 17 day route with sight seeing and three days in Beijing. Now all we need to wait for the estimated cost.

After lunch we left Bangkok. Our visa runs out in five days and we have to leave the country before that happens. We headed north. Shall we go to Cambodia or Laos?

25/9 2006 Truck Stop Highway 11, Thailand

Lat N 15° 51,47', Long E 100° 36,42' Today: 95 °F (
35 °C)

25 Sep 2006

51928 km

We decided north of Laos and the border crossing at the Mekong river at Huay Xai. At lunch time we got another idea. Why not go to Mae Sai instead, and try to get across to Myanmar? Then we can get a new Thai visa and do not need to hurry to get out of the country. And while we are there we can always try to get our car in to Myanmar too…

When we are in the Golden Triangle area the borders are within a stone's throw of each other. But if we do get in to Myanmar we are only allowed to go to the border town Tachilek. But a small victory is also a victory…

26/9 2006 Mae Salong, Thailand

Lat N 20° 09,78', Long E 99° 38,72' Today: 84.2 °F (
29 °C)

26 Sep 2006

52595 km

Read in the Loney Planet about a small place near the border called Mae Salong that seemed interesting. During the Chinese revolution in 1949 a big crowd of soldiers and their families fled from the Yunnan province in China to Thailand. They settled here in Mae Salong and re-created a society much like in Yunnan.

Spent the night at
Flower Hill Resort
. We had a ice and cool night for a change, as we are at 1 100 meter. When we arrived yesterday it was late and it was already dark. We had a pleasant surprise this morning looking out over the terraced valleys and a huge very well kept Chinese style garden.

When taking a walk in the village an old Chinese man got hold of us. He was in to Chinese medicine. He rambled on in Chinese while examining Bert. Then he disappeared for a while and came back with some kind of fruit, fungus or whatever it was. Bert was supposed to eat this as treatment for some kind of illness he clamed Bert had.

30/9 2006 Chiang Khong, Thailand

Lat N 20° 16,02', Long E 100° 24,38' Today: 95 °F (
35 °C)

30 Sep 2006

52807 km

We are now in Chiang Khong to take the barge over to Huay Xai in Laos. But it was not that simple. The border crossing is open, but since it is Saturday there are only longtail boats crossing the river and we can not get our car across. We have to wait here till Monday. We are not the only ones that have to wait. The truck drivers try to make it as comfortable as possible with a hammock underneath the tank.

We went back to our hotel to check in again. It is far too hot to sleep in the car now. We had nice dinner at our hotel watching the sun set over the Mekong River.

1/10 2006 Chiang Khong, Thailand

Lat N 20° 16,02', Long E 100° 24,38' Today: 95 °F (
35 °C)

01 Oct 2006

52807 km

Today Thailand has new visa rules. We can get a 30 day ”visa-upon-arrival” as many times as we like. But we can only stay in Thailand for a maximum of 90 days within a six months period. This means we have to star counting the days we spend here. The new rules are to prevent people from working here without a work permit.

We had
Thai massage
today. To be really sure that we didn’t end up at the wrong kind of place we chose one where it all happened in the full glare of publicity. It as very nice and cost only 3 Euro an hour.

2/10 2006 Chiang Khong, Thailand

Lat N 20° 16,02', Long E 100° 24,38' Today: 96.8 °F (
36 °C)

02 Oct 2006

52807 km

We didn’t get very far today, only 1,3 kilometer. But still we managed to cross the Mekong river and enter a new country; Laos.

No one took any notice of us arriving in Laos, and all of a sudden we where in the middle of town without a visa or without getting our car registered. It feels a bit awkward to be in a country without valid papers. We had to ask around to find the immigration office and the customs office to work this out.

At our guest house we met Renata and Tobias, overland travelers by motorbike from Germany. They had seen our car in Goa, India and Pohkara in Nepal, but we have never met before. It is a small world.

Renata and Tobias
turned out to be real sauna enthusiasts, and they invited us to try sauna “The Lao way”. When the temperature is +36°C outside the need for a sauna isn’t that big; but still it is always nice to try something new. It was a herbal steam sauna thick with smoke from the fire, but we had a really nice evening.